We Want To Know You: Aleem Arif

Some people can just go with the flow. Aleem Arif is one of them. When he moved to Calgary in 2010 after living abroad most of his life, Arif had an apartment locked down from Craigslist and that’s about it. Exploring new territory both geographically and metaphysically ever since, Arif has shifted his career from high finance to high fashion, and hasn’t looked back, proving that excitement and challenges are just what this 27-year-old entrepreneur thrives on.

What was your life like before the creation of Bano eeMee? My dad is a civil engineer, so we moved around a lot. I was born in Saudi Arabia, but I’ve never actually been back. We lived in New York and I went to school in England; I went to Boston University for my master’s degree and then I started working for a bank as a financial consultant. I wanted to go to Parsons or FIT and I started filling out my applications, but my parents wanted me to pursue a “serious career” and suggested I do fashion for a hobby. I knew even back then that I wanted to do something fashion-related, but it took me a while to take that desire seriously.

So you moved yourself to Calgary. What happened next? The first fashion event I attended here, Fashion Has No Borders, I met a couple of people and I started going to different stores to see what the fashion scene was here in this city. I really loved the fact that so many people are into supporting local designers. There is a mall culture, but in the stores I was visiting, they were really into the local scene. I was living off my savings and had applied for a few bank jobs that I was secretly hoping I wouldn’t get when I met Lana Selbee, owner of Eleven: Eleven boutique, and we became friends. Through that friendship I started attending events and meeting all sorts of local designers and decided to take the chance and try my hand at a line.

How did you come up with the name Bano eeMee? Deciding on the name was very difficult. Bano is what my grandma used to call my mom, and my mom calls me eeMee. She’s the only one who calls me that and only when she’s really happy with me, so in the end I decided to combine the two. To me, the name is just love.

What’s your personal sense of style? I used to be a hoodie guy, but now I like to dress up. Dressing well makes you feel good and you approach people very differently. Fashion is just so personal. When I’m meeting my friends I want to be comfortable and just be me, but you can flip roles and your demeanour by changing your outfit. That’s amazing to me.

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